Thill-coupling



' UNITED STATES: PATENT Enron,

'oEoRGE'woR ALL LEE, or HOMEWORTH, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, AND

HERBERT T. GOULD, OF PERRY, NEWV YORK.

THILL-COUIPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 402,531, dated April 30, 1889. Application filed February 18, 1889. $erial No. 300,373. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be 1t known that I, GEORGE WORRALL LEE,

'of Homeworth, in the county of Oolumbiana 3, a sectional view on line 00 00, Fig. 2. Fig. 4

is a detail view of the detaching-key; and Figs. .5, 6, and 7 are details of the parts.

This invention is an improved thill-cou'pling for vehicles, and its object is to provide a simple but secure fastening device by which the thills can be readily attached to or detached from a vehicle, and when attached can be securely locked thereto, and which will not rattle or jar; and to these ends it consistsin the hereinafter-described novel construction and combination of parts, clearly specified in the claims.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A designates the axle, and B designates a couplingiron secured to the axle by an ordinaryclip, a, or in other convenient manner. The front end of iron Bis formed into a horizontal eye, I).

O designates a stubshaft slipped in eye Z), and secured therein by means of a set-screw, D, which engages a threaded opening in eye I). Shaft C is preferably bored interiorly and longitudinally,.as at c, and may have a lateral opening, 01, to engage screw D, and through which oil can be supplied when the screw D is removed, so that the ends of the shaft will be lubricated.

E is a bifurcated thill-iron having a shank,

e, and two rearwardly-extending curved arms,

F F, as shown. On the extremities of said arms are heads ff, which are recessed in their inner opposing faces, said recesses being of a size to fit snugly over the ends of shaft 0. The thill-iron is made of steel, preferably, and its arms are so arranged that they can be sprung apart and over the ends of shaft 0, and when'released will clasp said shaft. Preferably I make concentric corrugations in the ends of shaft 0 and similar corrugations or grooves in the bottoms of the recesses in heads f, so that the opposing surfaces of the corrugations will take up slight wear and prevent rattling.

. G designates a locking-plate, which is placed between arms F F, and has two downwardlyinclined arms, g g, which catch upon arms F and support the plate thereon, and at the same time prevents divergence or spreading of the arms. Said plate has two downwardly-diverging legs, H H, at bottom, which depend below arms F F, and it also has an opening, h, in its top, for a purpose hereinafter mentioned.

I designates a spring-bar curved similarly to and shorter than arms F, and attached to plate G at one end in any suitable manner.

' The other end of the bar is provided with an eye, 2, which is seated in a countersunk recess, j, in the upper face of shank e, and is secured in place by the thill-bolt J, which passes through the end K of the thill, through the eye'of the spring-bar, and through the shank of the thill-iron, as shown, and binds the parts securely together, as is evident. The spring-bar when thus adjusted bears plate G down, so that its arms g g catch arms F F and prevent spreading thereof, and if the arms have been previously sprung over shaft 0 the coupling is complete and secure, as is evident from the drawings.

In order to unlock or disengage the coupling, it is necessary to separate arms F F, and this is accomplished by means of plate G and a key or releasing-tool, L, which consists of a bifurcated bar, the arms Z Z of which are ta pered outwardly, so that they can be placed between arms F F, over bar I; and Z is a hook or finger projecting from said bar, near the bifurcation thereof, which can be engaged in the opening h of plate G, as shown in the drawings. When by turning the handle of the key upward and outwardly plate G is lifted, its diverging legs 11 H force apart arms F F, while the tapering arms Z Z of the key also force apart the arms. The arms F F are thus separated sufficiently to disengage shaft 0, and are similarly separated when they are to be engaged on the shaft. As soon as the key is removed, the natural resiliency of the arms F causes them to close properly, and the plate G, being depressed by spring I, assists their closing and locks them, as described.

Modifications might be made in the construction of the engaging portions of the arms F F and the coupling iron or shaft Owithout departing from the spirit of my invention, and the shaft 0 might be made integral with iron B; but I prefer the construction shown and described.

lVhat I claim, therefore, is

1. The combination of the coupling iron with a bifurcated thill-iron and a lockingplate placed in the bifurcation of said thilliron and engaging the arms thereof, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination of the coupling-iron and the bifurcated thill-iron with a lockingplate in the bifurcation of said thill-iron and the spring-bar connected to the plate and controlling the same, constructed and arranged substantially as specified.

3. The combination of the coupling-iron and the stub-shaft with a bifurcated thilliron embracing said shaft, and a locking-plate placed in the bifurcation of said thill iron and engaging the arms thereof, all substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of the coupling-iron and a bifurcated thill-iron with a locking and spreading plate, G, for said thill-iron, constructed and arranged substantially as specified.

5. The combination of the coupling-iron, the bifurcated thill-iron, and the locking and distending plate with the key for operating said plate to distend the thill-iron, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. The combination of the couplingiron,

the stub-shaft secured thereto, and the bifurcated thill-iron engaging said stub-shaft with the locking-plate for said thill-iron and its controlling spring-bar, substantially as specified.

7. The combination of the stub-shafthaving concentric corrugations in its ends with a bifurcated thill-iron having heads recessed to embrace the ends of said shaft, said recesses being concentrically corrugated at bot tom, substantially as specified.

8. The combination of the coupling-iron having a sleeve and set-screw with a stubshaft perforated, as described, and secured in said sleeve, and a bifurcated thill-iron engaging said stub-shaft, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

9. In a thill-coupling, the combination of the coupling-iron, the stub-shaft, and the bifurcated thill-iron engaging said shaft, with the locking and distending plate in the bifurcation of said shaft, the spring engaging the same, and the releasing-key, all substantially as described.

10. The combination of the coupling-iron, the stub-shaft secured to a sleeve of said iron, and a bifurcated thill-iron having recessed heads on its arms engaging said sleeve, with a plate placed between the arms of the thilliron and engaging the same, and the springbar seated in a recess in the shank of the thilliron and engaging said plate, all substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE WORRALL LEE. Witnesses:

BEN G. KING, WILLIAM A. MILLER. 

